I've never been to Madrid before, only Barcelona. It's the tail end of a trip to Croatia, so we have very limited time. I was hoping one night would be more for tapas and the other night a more special restaurant. I collated a lot of the responses, and here were a few that intrigued me most:-- Casa Alberto on Calle Huertas-- If I have one night for tapas, I would head for Cava Baja and the streets around it. It has the best and most varied tapas places, including some serving pintxos-- I heartily second this Paco Meralgo recommendation for tapas-- 1) El Club Allard (the most mind-blowing meal of the trip). http://focussnapeat.com/2012/06/21/no...-- Arzabal - We went here for dinner. The tapas here are excellent, far better than what we had on Cava Baja-- Diverxo - My favorite meal of our entire trip (then someone else said they went and weren't impressed)-- del Casino can't be beat if you're dining on the terrace.

Diverxo reservations are hard to come by and there is an Asian influence.

I liked Arzabal for dinner but I would not go there if I had such a limited time in the city.

What I think is what I wrote above...you need to offer some hints if you are to receive any meaningful information. Will your budget allow places in the range of Club Allard and Terraza del Casino? What kind of food do you want to eat? Meat? Seafood?Traditional? Cutting edge?

What days of the week does your visit include? Not Sunday, I hope!

I agree with the Cava Baja idea, as I wrote in my last post; the area is called La Latina.

Thanks. Some Barcelona recommendations did get mixed in. Actually, I just looked at my itinerary and one night is Sunday. I realize that will make dining difficult. What do you suggest? My budget does allow for one splurge meal at a restaurant that has good seafood options. I really wanted to experience tapas as well, but now with my itinerary including a Sunday, I'm wondering if that will be difficult. I wasn't more specific on my preferences as I didn't want to be so limiting. I do like cutting-edge cuisine but didn't want to necessarily eliminate restaurants that are more traditional.Would Terraza, Club Allard or Diverxo even open on Sundays?

None of those three--Terraza, Diverxo, Allard-- will be open on Sunday. And the tapas place I mentioned is Casa Lucas, not Casa Lucio (confusing, I know!) .

I have not been to Botin in more years than I care to count, but while it is touristy, I've heard the food is still good.

Please search here for "Madrid open on Sunday" and come back with more questions..there are a few threads on that topic, but the bottom line is that you are severely limited in your choices on that day of the week. But there are places that will be open for Sunday lunch and not dinner, so you have more choice if you make the mid-day meal your big meal on that day.

Here are two threads to get you started; do not despair--you will find something!!

My own upcoming visit will begin on a Sunday and I will have the same problem!My notes say to take a look at these two (in addition to the places on the other threads) which are open on Sundays, but I've not been:

Thank you so much. I did do a search of my own for restaurants open on Sunday. I guess if I want to have the tapas experience, I should do that on Saturday, when I'm there as well. Well, if you land on a place for your own visit, do let me know what you end up choosing. Again, thanks for all your help.

If you can handle eating standing up, you can tapas hop around La Latina Sunday for lunch into the late afternoon (1-6pm-ish). Normally restaurants close after lunch around 4:00ish--and during the weekdays tapas aren't really a lunch thing in Madrid--but on Sunday places in La Latina stay open later, to accomodate the snack-happy post-Rastro crowd. There are spots that range from down-and-dirty holes in the wall (like the sardine spot on the Plaza del General Vara del Rey or many tostas places sprinkled around the Rastro) to higher concept spots. One off the beaten path place that I like is Taberna La Solana at the corner of Calle Mira el Sol and c/Peña de Francia.

You can also hit the nearby San Miguel Market, which is open on Sundays until midnight (though some stalls/bars close earlier, I believe).

If you are coming the first week or so of September, some places in La Latina may still be closed, since the neighborhood fiestas in mid August push back the closings a few weeks for many spots.

Lori I do not believe you can reserve at most of these. Agree with poster below that Casa Lucas is excellent. If you arrive near opening times, you can often grab counter seats, or seats at those that have small tables.

The official language is Spanish. If you want to reserve a table at a restaurant, I have never had a problem, however, in Spanish as most Spaniards have more or less an Intermediate Level B1 OR B1 + EU level of English as in reality they studied the grammar which is very good in a grammar class activity. However, the verbal output is rustic.

Best of luck on your trip and enjoy. Its a great city and easy on public transport, recently renovated.

Also looking for a high end place in the central area, cooking classic Castilian food. Not interested in tapas or molecular type places, both of which we can happily experience elsewhere.

Although we visit Spain almost every year, I have never been to Madrid - my partner spent a couple of days there, with work colleagues and is whisking me back for a couple of days to look at the Prado and Thyssen. She recalls eating at somewhere she enjoyed but can't recall the name - from the description I'm sure it must have been the Botin and we'll eat there one night - so somewhere that'll complement that experience.

El Club Allard is my top choice. Ramon Freixa is also good if you want Calalonian style food. Casino is good for romantic dining but food is not a top class For my taste. Diverxo is also great but it's mixed Europien and Asian Cuisine if you don't like this type of cuisine just skip it. For tapas I recommend Maison de Champion near Plaza Mayor. Grilled mushroom and green chili are the bes. If you have time you should try Paella at La Baracca.